Go ahead and jump: Palmyra’s Hicks twins relish final opportunity to compete together

PALMYRA, Mo. — The Hicks twins’ track careers may have come to an end on Friday, but their support for each other remains neverending.

As Carson Hicks cleared the bar on a 6-foot, 4-inch jump at Friday’s Illinois/Missouri Senior All-Star Track Meet at Palmyra High School, his twin sister Chloe recorded the jump on her phone. After Carson cleared the bar, the twins huddled around the phone and analyzed Carson’s form.

This was Carson’s final successful jump of his high school career in a meet that — in terms of results — meant nothing more than pride.

“I don’t care if it’s my last meet ever,” Carson Hicks said. “I’m going to try to PR and jump as high as I can.”

This attention to detail has allowed the Hicks twins to compete with some of the best high jumpers in the state, especially the last two seasons. Both twins qualified for the Class 3 state track and field championships in 2023 where Carson finished sixth and Chloe finished seventh.

Carson qualified for state again in 2024, finishing third, but Chloe had to watch from the stands. She sprained her ankle two days before the Paris Sectional, which she entered with the third highest seeded jump. She gave it a go, but the ankle injury hampered her to a seventh place finish in the sectional, forcing her to miss out on a chance to pursue a state medal with her brother.

“I was really happy to be there and support (Carson),” Chloe Hicks said. “But it was hard to watch everybody else when I knew that I should be out there. Everything happens for a reason though.”

Chloe did get one last chance to compete with her brother on Friday, and while her jump of 4 feet, 8 inches was 7 inches off her personal best — understandable considering the injury and having three weeks off — she relished every moment of this night.

“I was excited just to get back out there and do it again, especially after my injury,” Chloe Hicks said. “I just wanted one last meet to see what I could do. To do it with (Carson) one last time, it was definitely a lot of fun together.”

The twins will stick together as they embark on their next chapter. Both will begin their freshman years at the University of Missouri this fall. Chloe said she considered continuing her track career at Columbia College — just across town from Mizzou — but academics took priority.

“I was really close to going to (Columbia College), but they didn’t have my major,” Chloe Hicks said. “That had to be my main focus.”

Carson doesn’t plan on participating in track at the next level either, but if the offer presents itself down the line, that could change.

“I was always interested in walking on at a bigger school,” Carson Hicks said. “If the coach comes to me, I’ll probably take it.”

For now, the twins focus their attention squarely on their college degrees — speech, language and hearing sciences for Chloe, business administration with an emphasis in finance and banking for Carson.

“I’m excited for a new experience,” Chloe Hicks said.

While that experience won’t involve analyzing film of their jumps, it will still involve each other.

“I love being a twin,” Chloe Hicks said. “I think it’s so cool to always have somebody with you.”